Diederik Schrijvershof and Leah Peeters assisted GroentenFruit Huis ("GFH") in drafting a response in the context of a consultation organized by the European Commission (the "Commission"). The Commission intends to amend CMO Regulation 1308/2013 (the "CMO") and invited stakeholders to comment on the proposed amendment.
GFH is a trade association of trading companies and producer organizations engaged in the sales of fruits and vegetables. GFH's members specialize in cooperative selling, domestic wholesaling, importing, exporting, cutting and handling, processing, packing, storage and transhipment of fresh fruits and vegetables. The proposed amendment to the CMO includes a narrowing of the definition of fruits and vegetables "intended for industrial processing." As a result, fruits and vegetables intended for processing into cut fruit and vegetables must meet at least Class I or Class II quality requirements. Products that do not meet Class II - so-called "IV-gamma products" - can no longer be sold to consumers or businesses as "ready-to-eat" or "pan-ready" cut fruit and vegetables. The proposed adjustment of the definition in CMO is counterproductive. Among other things, this is because it leads to the impoverishment of the supply of fresh cut fruit and vegetables for consumers, promotes food waste and may increase the use of pesticides. The proposal also creates more emissions of CO2, among other things, because more processing is required to get fresh cut fruits and vegetables from the land to consumers' plates. GFH's full response can be read here.
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